CO Republican: Fracking is okay, it’s natural for water to burn. ‘Indians’ used it for warmth. [View all]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/12/co-republican-fracking-is-okay-its-natural-for-water-to-burn-indians-used-it-for-warmth/



CO Republican: Fracking is okay, it’s natural for water to burn. ‘Indians’ used it for warmth.
By David Ferguson
Tuesday, August 12, 2014 11:55 EDT

A Colorado Republican state senator justified the practice of hydraulic fracturing — commonly known as “fracking” — by saying that the presence of burnable amounts of methane gas in drinking water is a perfectly natural phenomenon. In fact, he said, the “Indians” used it for “warmth in the wintertime” many years ago.

According to Right Wing Watch, state Sen. Randy Baumgardner (R) was speaking to former Navy chaplain turned conservative activist Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmitt at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver.

Klingenschmitt recorded the interview for his daily “Pray in Jesus’ Name” show. He asked the Republican what he thought of the government trying to “pick and choose” and prioritize some forms of energy over others.

“I’ve been doing a lot of the fracking seminars,” said Baumgardner, “and if people haven’t been, then they really don’t understand it.”